Lakewood’s Ashley Wafer already had the taste of sweet redemption before she stepped onto the mat for her heavyweight championship bout at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.
In the semifinals, the senior punched her ticket to state and the championship bout with a 5-0 decision over Downey’s Katherine Luna – who defeated her in the gold medal match a year ago.
Wafer wasn’t done there.
She wanted more after reaching this point two years in a row but falling short.
In the championship bout against Citrus Valley’s Hailey Barrios, Wafer pinned Barrios to claim the heavyweight gold medal in the Gold Division at Sonora on Saturday. It’s Wafer’s first Masters championship.
“It feels great,” Wafer said of winning the gold medal and defeating Luna along the way. “I’ve been struggling to bear her for the longest time and it was nice to finally champ at Masters since I’ve been the runner up for two years in a row.”
It was a proud moment for Lakewood coach Randy Gonzalez who’s seen Wafer get close to the top of the podium at Masters but fall just short.
“Told her if she sticks to the plan it’ll all work out,” Gonzalez said.
With the finish, Wafer is heading to Bakersfield next week to compete at the State Wrestling Tournament.
Wafer’s finish headlined the three Moore League wrestlers that will be representing the Moore League at the State meet.
Long Beach Poly’s Berlyn Solia-Tago punched her ticket with another podium finish. She defeated Temescal Canyon’s Sam Mendoza in the 170-pound consolation semifinals in the blue division to secure another trip to state before defeating Warren’s Arielle Perez for the bronze medal. Selieni Paseka took the bronze medal with a victory over Sultana’s Chelsea Garcia in the 190-pound gold division.
